Mediating Disputes

The success of any mediation is predicated on the skills of the mediator.

In this popular program, you will acquire the practical skills and techniques for facilitating negotiations between disputing parties. From family and employment matters to public policy and business disagreements, you will discover effective ways to settle differences and mediate disputes across a variety of contexts.

This program will provide you with core mediation skills and training and hands-on experience as a mediator in a variety of simulations.

You will examine the mediation process through the lens of both caucus and non-caucus models of practice, and consider the role of law, as well as interest-based bargaining, in shaping mediated settlements.

In addition, the course addresses legal and ethical issues in mediation, and the psychological dimensions of the mediation process.

Learning objectives

During this intensive five-day program, you will:

Broaden your understanding of ways to resolve disputes

Become more comfortable with the role of mediator and diverse mediation styles

Examine the ethical dilemmas and legal dimensions of mediation practice

Learn how to preserve value and relationships through mediation

Acquire improved problem-solving negotiation techniques

Gain insights as to the role of lawyers in mediation

Who should attend?

This program is appropriate for lawyers who are interested in adding mediation to their practice, and judges who are interested in setting up court-based mediation programs or becoming professional mediators. We also welcome professionals from all backgrounds, industries, and countries who wish to improve their ability to resolve disputes. Previous participants have included lawyers, judges, teachers, doctors, ministers, managers, directors, executives, and administrators.

While prior familiarity with mediation is encouraged, we welcome professionals who wish to include mediation in their work.

Enrollment is conditional upon an assessment of English proficiency.

To deliver the personalized learning experience for which this program is known, enrollment is strictly limited to 48 participants.

Due to the interactive and simulation-rich nature of the training, participants must demonstrate proficiency in English, as this program is conducted solely in English. Participants should be able to converse fluently in dialogue with the instructor and other students. While a certification of fluency in English is not required, we suggest a TOEFL written exam score of 570 as the minimum proficiency standard.

Format

Featuring lectures, interactive discussions, small group and one-on-one exercises, and mediation simulations, this intensive program is designed to actively engage you in the mediation process. Key to the program is the opportunity to mediate a dispute from beginning to end and to explore your own mediation technique and skills, including feedback both from fellow participants and program faculty.

Credits and Certificates

Upon successful completion of this program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. Certificates are distributed on the final day of the program. This program has been approved for continuing legal education (CLE) credits in the United States. The approval often includes ethics hours.

Course Materials

An advance memo, to be sent one month prior to the start of the course, will introduce readings and course particulars.

Course Dates and Times:

June 5-9. Courses meet all day.

Location:

The Harvard Law School campus, Cambridge, MA. An advance Welcome Packet will detail program locations and events.

The program fee includes tuition, curricular materials, continental breakfasts and buffet lunches, and receptions. The fee does not include accommodation; please see our FAQ’s for recommended places to stay.

Contact Us:

Call 1-800-391-8629 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST any business day or email us at: hni@law.harvard.edu

Harvard Negotiation Institute (HNI) programs are led by a distinguished team of educators, authors, thought leaders, and practitioners. Acknowledged experts in their fields, HNI faculty draw on the latest thinking and research to deliver practical techniques and real-world strategies for effectively conducting personal and professional negotiations.

Robert H. Mnookin is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and the Director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project. A leading scholar and expert in the field of conflict resolution, Professor Mnookin has applied his interdisciplinary approach to negotiation and conflict resolution to a remarkable range of problems; both public and private. An experienced mediator, Prof. Robert Mnookin has successfully mediated many complex commercial disputes which involved advanced technologies and intellectual property. He has written or edited nine books and numerous scholarly articles. A renowned teacher and lecturer, Prof. Robert Mnookin has taught numerous workshops for corporations, governmental agencies and law firms throughout the world and trained many executives and professionals. in negotiation and mediation skills.

Gary J. Friedman has been practicing law as a mediator with Mediation Law Offices in Mill Valley, California, since 1976, integrating principles of mediation into the practice of law and the resolution of legal disputes. Through the non-profit organization which he co-founded, The Center for Understanding in Conflict (formerly The Center for Mediation in Law), he has been teaching mediation since 1980.
Prior to his work as a mediator, Gary practiced law as a trial lawyer with Friedman and Friedman in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several years as an advocate, he sought a new approach to resolving disputes through increasing the participation of the parties in the resolution of their differences. At that time, he and his colleague, Jack Himmelstein, began to develop a model of mediation — the Understanding Based Model — that is now practiced extensively in the United States and Europe.

Dana Curtis, an attorney mediator, mediates a broad range of disputes in her Sausalito, CA practice. Her 23-year mediation career includes four years as staff mediator for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and recognition as a “Top 50″ California neutral. She conducts mediation training for organizations, courts and law schools throughout the U.S. and internationally, including at Stanford Law School, where she taught for ten years.

Robert H. Mnookin is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, the Chair of the Executive Committee, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and the Director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project. A leading scholar in the field of conflict resolution, Professor Mnookin has applied his interdisciplinary approach to negotiation and conflict resolution to a remarkable range of problems, both public and private.

Gary J. Friedman has been practicing law as a mediator with Mediation Law Offices in Mill Valley, California, since 1976, integrating principles of mediation into the practice of law and the resolution of legal disputes. Through the non-profit organization which he co-founded, The Center for Understanding in Conflict (formerly The Center for Mediation in Law), he has been teaching mediation since 1980.

Dana Curtis, an attorney mediator, mediates a broad range of disputes in her Sausalito, CA practice. Her 23-year mediation career includes four years as a staff mediator for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and recognition as a “Top 50″ California neutral. She conducts mediation training for organizations, courts and law schools throughout the U.S. and internationally, including at Stanford Law School, where she taught for ten years.